Tennessee attorney general warns CVS to stop political texts sent through pharmacy alert system

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — For most people, a text from the pharmacy is routine.

A reminder that a prescription is ready. A nudge that it is time for a refill.

It is not, typically, a message about politics.

Yet, that is exactly what some CVS customers in Tennessee say they received. And now, the state’s top legal officer is raising questions about whether that crosses the line.

This week, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sent a letter to the CEO of CVS Health, warning the company to stop using customer phone numbers collected for pharmacy alerts to send messages about legislation.

In that letter, Skrmetti argues the company may have violated state law by using a system intended for health care communication to deliver what he describes as political advocacy.

“There are real legal problems with using information provided for the purpose of getting health care information for a purpose other than that,” Skrmetti said. “When consumers give them access to their phone numbers and when they give private information, it is for limited purposes defined by an agreement.”

At the center of the dispute is a message CVS sent warning customers about a bill moving through the Tennessee legislature, Senate Bill 2040, which the company said could significantly impact its operations in the state.

In a statement to News 2, CVS said: “We believe it’s important to let our Tennessee customers and patients know about Senate Bill 2040/House Bill 1959, harmful legislation that could shutter 134 trusted CVS Pharmacy locations and 25 trusted MinuteClinic locations, potentially disrupting their pharmacy care. This legislation is bad for Tennessee, for the more than 1.5 million patients we serve and for the more than 2,000 colleagues who could lose their jobs. Already tens of thousands of Tennesseans contacted their elected officials, we expect that number to grow, and we hope legislators will listen to their concerns.”

Not too long ago, Louisiana’s Attorney General reached a $45 million settlement with CVS Health over using customer data in a campaign against proposed legislation.

In Tennessee, Skrmetti said he would prefer to avoid that path.

“I don’t want to be in the chest pumping match here,” Skrmetti said. “We have a lot of problems to deal with. This seems like a situation where the best course of action is not to go into litigation and for them to just knock it off.”

Still, the warning comes with an edge. If the messages continue, the state is prepared to act.

“We are not afraid to litigate,” he said. “If we have to do it, we have to do it.”The bill at the center of the controversy is expected to move to a full Senate vote, while in the House, it still faces multiple committee stops before reaching the floor.